Here’s what to look for when the Seahawks travel to Arizona for a divisional showdown with a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC West.

1) Downhill all day

Yes, Matt Hasselbeck is back from a concussion, but the Seahawks will aim to establish the run early against the 28th-ranked rush defense in the league.

Marshawn Lynch, who is listed as probable for Sunday with a thigh injury, carried 11 times for 48 yards against the New York Giants last week as the Seahawks tried to play catch-up through the air most of the day. This week, Lynch and Justin Forsett should see plenty of carries.

If the Seahawks don’t fall behind early, they can control the game by exploiting the Cardinals’ front line. This team is not built to win shootouts, as was apparent in the past two losses.

“We need to get this running game going again,” head coach Pete Carroll said Friday. “We’ve had two down weeks and we have to fix this thing. It’s important that those (running backs) are felt by our opponent and we can utilize them throughout the game plan. So it’s a big deal for us.”

So far this season, Arizona has allowed four 100-yard rushers. The Seahawks rushed for a total of 144 yards in their last meeting. Lynch gained 89 yards on 24 carries in that game.

Look for Beast Mode to improve on that.

2) Hass is back

Charlie Whitehurst failed to create a quarterback controversy with his miserable day against the Giants, but that doesn’t mean the Seahawks don’t have issues at quarterback.

Hasselbeck is returning from a concussion suffered in the loss to the Oakland Raiders. Despite his less-than-stellar numbers this season, he brings some stability back to the offense.

“He’s played a lot of football games, he understands the system, and he’s definitely getting better every week,” offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates said Thursday. “So his health is good and he’s back. He’s had a good week of practice, yeah, we’re excited.”

Expect the Seahawks to try to get the passing game going with shorter throws and longer runs.

“I told the team – a lot of under 10-yard throws where guys go and turn it into a 25 to 30-yard gain,” Bates said. “We’re challenging our wideouts and we’re challenging our tight ends to make someone miss, be explosive, think when you catch the ball you’re going the distance, and we’ll start from there.”

Mike Williams should get involved early and could break one of those big plays.

3) Can anyone stop the run?

Brandon Mebane returns from a four-week absence after a calf injury and should bolster a defensive line that has been shredded on the ground the past two weeks.

“He’s one of our front-line guys,” Carroll said Monday. “He’s very active. He’s been a big figure in what we’ve done and counted on him. We’ve missed him for four weeks now; I think it’s maybe four full games.”

The Raiders ran for 239 yards and the Giants racked up 197 yards. But those were healthy backfields with lots of options. Both teams used three different tailbacks.

The Cardinals aren’t as deep, with Beanie Wells listed as questionable with a knee injury. Arizona’s next option is Tim Hightower. After that is LaRod Stephens-Howling, who has just 17 carries this season.

With Mebane back and the Arizona backfield hurting, the Seahawks might be able to return to their run-stopping ways. They didn’t allow a team to break 100 yards until the Cardinals ran for 113 yards in Week 7, but that was with Wells getting the bulk of the carries.

4) Drawing a line

The offensive line still is not up to full strength, but it’s in better shape than recent weeks, and if the Seahawks truly want to establish the run, that could be the best news they’ve had in weeks.

Chester Pitts

Rookie left tackle Russell Okung might miss another week, but the group is looking more line a unit and less like a game of musical chairs.

Tyler Polumbus will play left tackle with Chester Pitts back at left guard. Chris Spencer is at center, Stacy Andrews at right guard and Sean Locklear at right tackle. Pitts’ shift to guard could be the key to solidifying the line.

“I’m pleased that we’re able to get that done this week for some continuity for Chester,” Carrol said. “We’re trying to get him to play left guard for us and to keep bouncing him back out (to left tackle) slows that process down a little bit. He had a good week too. Chester continues to be more confident and better. I think we’ll see probably the best of him in the next few weeks and he’ll be back to really full form and feeling at his very best again.”

5) Four quarters of Anderson?

The last time these teams met, rookie Max Hall got the start. Chris Clemons knocked him out of the game in the third quarter and Derek Anderson, the starter for the season opener, returned. Anderson has taken most of the snaps since then, but head coach Ken Whisenhunt has shown ihe’s not afraid to swap play-callers.

“I think whenever you have a young player, like we did with Max, you knew that there was going to be some things that you were going to have to live with, especially when you were facing a team like Seattle in that environment, which is tough,” Wisenhunt said Wednesday. “I think in that game, Derek came in and he moved our team. Since then he’s improved a little bit each week so he gives us consistency and a little bit of a calmness because he’s not a rookie and he’s played in these types of games before.”

Anderson may be consistent, but he hasn’t been burning up the stat sheet since Hall was knocked out of the game at Qwest Field.

Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he was 16 of 24 for 234 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Against the Minnesota Vikings he was 15 of 26 for 179 yards and a touchdown.

If the Seahawks can take away the run and force Anderson into some mistakes through the air, Max Hall could be putting on his helmet in the second half.